Always Something Open To Taste

Wine A Little, You’ll Feel Better

Great Gift Ideas Found Here

What’s New at Enoteca – Fine Wine & Beer

1. Guess the Grape Wine Tasting this Weekend
       Test your wine taxonomy skills!
       Come taste with us for only $10 / flight (lots of wine!)
2. Now On Tap: Deschutes The Abyss 2008
       1/2 Gallon Growler Fill: $24.99, Pint: $7.99
3. Russell Said Beer, Sarah Said Wine
       Find out about the Halloween party, Sake-it-to-me, and Russell’s favorite type of Christmas beer.
4. Upcoming Tasting Events
   • Ninkasi Beer Tasting
         Thursday, October 22nd, 7 pm, $10, get tickets!
   • Guess the Grape Wine Tasting
         Friday, October 23rd, 4-7, Saturday the 24th, 12-7
   • Grand Teton Beer Tasting
         Thursday, October 29th, 5 & 7 pm, $10, get tickets!
   • Mischevious Wine Tasting
         Friday, October 30th, 4-7
   • Halloween Costume Party Wine Tasting
         Saturday, October 31st, 12-7. Door prizes, costume contest!
   • Wine Club Tasting
         Friday, November 6th, 4-7 pm, Saturday the 7th, 12-7
5. Can you recommend wine and/or beer to me once a month?
6. How is wine tasting at Enoteca different?

Russell Said Beer, Sarah Said Wine

Russell: The Ninkasi beer tasting isn’t quite full, so if you have a last minute urge to come, let us know and show up! As those who have been to recent beer tastings have learned, these events are a great way to taste newly released and unreleased beers. Full Sail’s Session Black was tasted at an Enoteca beer tasting well before release, Stone Vertical Epic 09-09-09 was tasted at Enoteca the day it arrived in Idaho, which was before arriving in Spokane, and Iron Horse brought 2 kegs of draught only beer to taste. (Thanks guys!) What can possibly happen with Ninkasi?

Sarah: A little pre Halloween fun is coming up this week. A masqurade style tasting for this weekend. Syrah? Malbec? Put your palate to the test with this tasting, and don’t be shy, we are all learning. It’s a great way to throw caution to the wind and try something with out your preconceptions in the way. I learned a ton at my last mystery tasting about what I thought I liked and didn’t. One thing I realized is that I put more importance into a label than I was aware I had. It has helped me branch out, and it might encourage you to explore too. Next Saturday is Halloween and if you have a costume, please come by and show it off! We have a prize for the costume that knocks our socks off! Russell and I have show stopping costumes that I have been working on but you must show up to see what it is…

Russell: I’m not exactly sure what I signed up for but Sarah has taken countless trips to Value Village and has been youtubeing professional makeup artists. I’m definitely waiting in anticipation to see what sort of Halloween costumes she creates! We’d love for you to join us, we know you like wine & beer and a costume party is just the natural outcome of that

Sarah: I just came back from an educational Sake tasting. Come by and check out our awesome selection. Much like the champagne levels or Reisling sweet to dry levels Sake has a variety from creamy to clear and sweet to dry. You can mix them to make a sake-tini or just sit back and enjoy with sushi, chicken even a simple cheese plate. Seriously, I think Sake is a little-understood beverage that deserves exploration. I have been pleasantly surprised at the Sake’s I have tried. This isn’t white lightning or rice water, Some have fruit juices added to make a refreshing drink, some are sparkling and others were just dry and amazing. If you aren’t yet convinced, the bottles are cute! C’mon now ladies don’t deny your inner Martha Stewart, use the empty Sake botte as a lovely little vase, or don’t and give them to me because I need something to put my Lilacs in when they start blooming in Oh, six months. Gotta plan ahead!

Russell: I always hear people ask whether to serve the Sake warm or cold? In restaurants, don’t they usually serve warm sake? What is the deal there?


Sarah: The short answer is that most good, high quality, premium Sake should be enjoyed slightly chilled. The cheap stuff is served warm, and that’s likely what the restaurants are serving en masse. Look on the back of the bottle most often there is a recomendation from the sakagura (sake brewers) on how to serve it. I rarely see on any of the Sake that we carry a recomendation to serve it warm. The one possible exception is a Taru-zake, or cedar aged sake, that is keeping in line with more traditional Sakes. Modern glass has rendered traditional wood aging casks optional, and the woody, unrefined flavors are what warming was meant to mask. Like beer and wine proper serving temperatures are important. Aim for white-wine like temperatures when serving Sake chilled. Don’t over cool it or you’ll lose subtlety of flavor. On the warming side, gentle warming of some of the premium sake can produce great effects, especially during the cold weather. Again, not too hot, just a little warmth!

Russell: Warmth… like drinking winter warmers. Mmmmm…. It’s my favorite time of year, the holiday beers have arrived! My favorites are the Belgian Nöel beers, typically dark, fruity, and a little kitchen spice, smelling like the holiday meal cooking days, boozey fruit cake, all that yumminess. Check out the list of what has arrived in the beer list at the top of this newsletter. The English have also come to the table with the ever popular Bad Elf line of beers, and other clever ideas like Santa’s Butt. These are all in limited supply, so if you want to be sure to put some of these under the tree, start early! Speaking of beer gifts, which I do because beer makes a great gift for me, Chimay gift packs are back in, Unibroue has 2 different gift packs in, and more varieties are on the way.

Enoteca Fun Tasting Events Calendar

Mark your calendars for tastings at Enoteca – Fine Wine & Beer. Some are classroom format, which means we all sit down at the same time and can interact with the presenter with questions and whatnot. Our Friday & Saturday wine tastings are drop-in format, which means you can stop in any time during the tasting hours and try some excellent wine. We price our tastings to just break even on the quantity we pour for you, and our pours are quite a bit more than a typical winery tasting room experience. Join us for these excellent tasting events!

Ninkasi Beer Tasting with Marty Ochs
Thursday, October 22nd – 7 pm [$10 flight, classroom]

Marty Ochs from Ninkasi Brewing will be on hand to share great beer! Come see how this Eugene, Oregon brewery is making an impact with hops. Total Domination IPA? Oh yes. We’ll be holding 1 classroom style tasting at 7 pm. $10 per person, reserve your tickets early!


Guess the Grape Wine Tasting
Friday, October 23rd – 4-7 pm [$10 flight, drop-in]

Think you know wine? Even though we taste a lot of wine, we’re always blown away by how unique and interesting a wine maker can make each bottle. Come try a selection of wines blind, and try to guess what grape variety is being represented in the glass. You might find out that you really can taste it! We’ll give you a shot at guessing the region and price range too. Bring your friends, it will be fun.
We will taste these wines on Saturday, October 24th as well, from 12-7.


Grand Teton Brewing Co. Beer Tasting with brew Master Rob Mullin
Thursday, October 29th – 5 & 7 pm [$10 flight, classroom]

Meet Brew Master Rob Mullin, and try beer with John Lundholm from Grand Teton. These guys are from Victor, Idaho in the southern part of the state, and if you’ve been in the Beer Club for a few months you probably recognize their brewery from the big 1L uber-tasty beers you’ve received. We’ll be holding 2 tastings, one at 5 and one at 7 pm. $10 per person, reserve your tickets early! (be sure to specify 5 or 7 pm)


Mischevious Wine Tasting
Friday, October 30rd – 4-7 pm [$10 flight, drop-in]

Taste a spooky selection of wines, including the Phantom (yummy!), Unusual Suspects, and more. This will be a fun tasting and pre-game to the costume party.
Saturday, October 31st, we will be holding a Halloween Costume Party and Wine Tasting!


Halloween Costume Party and Wine Tasting
Saturday, October 31st – 12-7 pm [$10 flight, drop-in]

Dress up, show up, have fun! We’ll be tasting the same line-up of spooky wines as Friday, but Saturday we’ll all be in costume, and you can come in costume too. This is a perfect start to the evening as wine tasting from 12-7 can always come before the party! We’ll be giving away some door prizes and there will be a costume contest. Bring your friends, it will be fun.
Costume Contest! Come in costume, enter to win a free Magnum of delicious wine!


November Taste of Wine Club
Friday, November 6th – 4-7 pm [$10 flight, drop-in]

November Wine & Beer of the Month Club! Club tasting event, taste all the wine club wines! This is a great opportunity to see what the Club is all about, and to see what others are getting in their bins. We will taste these wines on Saturday, November 7th as well, from 12-7.


Black Friday Early Bird Specials
Friday, November 27th

Look for details in upcoming newsletters.


You can keep yourself in the loop on Enoteca events! Subscribe to the Enoteca Google Calendar to keep up-to-date on the latest happenings!


Thank you for your support of our local family business.

Salute’

Russell and Sarah

Enoteca – Fine Wine & Beer
208-457-9885
service@corkjoy.com

Enoteca is open:
Tuesday-Saturday: 11-7


Directions, hours, and more about Enoteca: www.corkjoy.com

We’re always looking for feedback! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to let us know. Did you like a certain wine or beer? We’re here to serve you so let us know how we can help: service@corkjoy.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 12:06 am and is filed under Enoteca News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.